Lack of information hindering US troops

THE commander of US forces in Iraq yesterday blamed continuing violence on insufficient intelligence and lack of co-operation from the Iraqi people.

Meanwhile, south of Baghdad, a British soldier was killed and a second injured when their convoy was trapped between two crowds who fired arms and rocket-propelled , the British military said.

Regarding the continuing violence, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez said the country needs an Iraqi civil defence force and more Iraqi police to "establish linkages to the Iraqi people ... to get the information that we need".

"Putting more soldiers on the ground is not going to solve the problem if I don't have the intelligence to act on," Lt Gen Sanchez said.

He added that casualty figures since the end of major fighting in Iraq declared by US President George W Bush on May 1 were "about what we would expect to get in this kind of conflict". Since May 1, 143 US soldiers have died five more than during the war itself.

Meanwhile, the US is exploring the possibility of establishing a UN-endorsed multinational force in Iraq that would be led by a US commander, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage acknowledged the idea was one being considered by the administration as it attempted to deal with continuing violence in Iraq.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell earlier travelled to New York to issue an appeal for a new UN Security Council resolution that would reinforce UN support for the deployment of additional foreign forces in Iraq.

But initial soundings by administration officials suggested minimal support for that approach, taking into account continuing resentment among many security council members about the US decision in March to go to war in Iraq without UN endorsement.

French officials have said a genuinely international approach to Iraq with a sharing of authority is the best way to bring stability to Iraq and enable the country to move forward.